Seeing Her
by Mrs Bella Riddle
Summary: Life has changed after Azkaban for Bellatrix Lestrange. Her husband and sister do not understand her, but the Dark Lord does and that is enough.


For the genre competition which must be the genre "slice of life" and have the prompt "I see you". It is a little rushed in the time I had to complete it.

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Everything had changed. Nothing was the same as it had been.

Bellatrix Lestrange knew that as she pushed the silk sheets off her malnourished body. She was housed in luxury; everything was framed in furniture that was centuries old, the dishes and brush on her dressing table was crystal and the lining of everything may as well have been gold.

It was how it should be.

She had been born as a member of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. She had been raised in luxury; always with the finest of everything. She had then gone on to marry a Lestrange to maintain the appropriate lifestyle.

However, in a blink of an eye, in Azkaban, it had all been taken away. She had been left in rags for robes, eaten gruel for food and she had been engulfed by the bitter chill.

Now it was gone. Her Lord had released her and now she was at her sister's home; Malfoy Manor.

Standing, her eyes flicked to the bed; it was empty. She had never loved her husband. Often she hated him, but sometimes she was also strangely fond of him. Either way they had been man and wife and had shared a bed.

No longer.

In Azkaban their wedding rings had been confiscated and they had been thrown in separate cells signalling the end of their union.

Bellatrix thought it was that way. After their release, she had not felt anything when she had seen the gaunt, bearded face of her husband and had seen how his once impressive build had waisted away.

It did not matter. He did not matter.

He was unimportant. He thought he was, but that was the problem. He did not understand how she thought.

He did not really see her at all.

Passing a glance at the ornate mirror, she did not pause to stare as she walked past and entered the impressive marble bathroom.

She already knew what she would see in her reflection. She would find masses of black hairs like bird's nests, hollow eyes, grey skin, a skeleton figure and yellow teeth.

She did not need to see that.

Tossing off the nightgown that had once been Narcissa's, she stepped into the shower and allowed the jet of hot water to wash over her.

Narcissa did not understand or see her either.

Bellatrix remembered how Narcissa had looked at her when she had arrived at Malfoy Manor in the arms of Lucius after her release from Azkaban. Her sister had been shocked. She had stared wide eyes and terrified as if she had been confronted with the most disgusting thing she had ever seen.

It had not bothered Bella, only Cissy's actions had; she tried to pity her. She had tried to fix her looks, comb her hair, fatten her up and she had tried to dress her up. Narcissa did not understand she was meant to be like this. Her looks were a sign of her dedication and sacrifice to the Dark Lord that should be cherished and appreciated.

The merest thought of the Dark Lord was enough to make Bella smile and reveal her yellow teeth as she continued her daily routine. It was not much; only a few spells and throwing on a robe, but she did not care. She only headed down to breakfast as quickly as she could.

If anyone had known her when she was a teenager they would have been extremely surprised that she would ever rush down to breakfast. However, despite her age, there was one difference between the meals she had attended then and now; the Dark Lord could be there.

Not only were she and many escaped Death Eaters occupying her sister's house, but the Dark Lord was as well. She was sharing a roof with the Dark Lord himself!

He did not always attend meals, but there was a possibility that he would and that was enough to have Bellatrix racing downstairs at the slightest chance that she could be in his presence.

The Dark Lord was something different. The most powerful, intelligent and magnificent man in existence, she had worshiped and followed him since she was nineteen. However, more than that, her Master had an ability no one else had; he could see her. He knew why she had been in Azkaban for the best years of her life, he knew why she did not care about her looks, he knew why she had no feelings for her husband and he knew who her life revolved around.

He saw her.

Stepping into the luxurious Malfoy Manor Dining Room, dark eyes immediately found red eyes slitted like cats pupils.

Like in the shower, she beamed in delight and like a magnet she was in the seat beside him in a second.

Her eyes never left his and for a very brief moment he stared at her too.

Only the Dark Lord could see her.

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A/N- Until he turned away and ignored her, but it is enough for Bella.


End file.
